chocolate tahini cake with rosemary buttercream

what a gift today has been.

wide awake at six am, egg and i found ourselves en route to darcy's for a little breakfast date. darcy's is where the farmers go for breakfast. it's the kind of place with a counter and bottomless coffee and usuals, who are welcomed by first name and served without ordering. 

we had diner eggs and diner potatoes. we indulged in buttery diner toast, which is one of the best kinds of toast, if you ask me. we took our sweet time and talked about sugar beets, just like the other farmers... and then when a farmer friend came in, we talked about china and mooncakes. it was perfect. i think darcy's is my new favorite.

i took eggboy to the farm as the sun rose, and after i dropped him off, i stopped at the market for berries and herbs to make a very special cake. 

a few months ago, i donated some cakes as donor gifts for wolftree's kickstarter. wolftree met their goal (yay!), so a few people received vouchers for a custom cake. one man gave me the freedom to make any cake and to deliver it at any time.

i am sort of in love with the idea of a spontaneous cake appearing at a moment's notice. perhaps he'll invite friends over to eat it, perhaps he'll eat it all himself! who knows!

so for this friday cake, i made a cake that i have been desperately wanting to try: a tahini cake. i used my favorite chocolate cake recipe and with the help of my friend jenna, found a good way to incorporate tahini: rather than using the 1/2 cup of oil, i used six tablespoons of tahini and two tablespoons of oil. i also always use coconut milk instead of cow milk with this recipe. it gives it an extra somethin somethin and then also makes it dairy free. the results were so moist and delicious.

for the buttercream, i infused two sticks of butter with rosemary by boiling it for a few minutes with a handful of rosemary sprigs and then covering it and letting it sit out overnight. today, i melted it back down, strained out the rosemary sprigs, and then stuck it in the fridge for a bit to firm up. once it was firm but not too hard, i whipped it up with some more softened butter, added a splash of vanilla and powdered sugar to taste, a few pinches of salt, and a few tablespoons of milk. literal. perfection. 

frosty frost frost, in the naked fashion (don't you love naked cakes??), and then this cake got some fresh raspberries, pearl sugar, powdered sugar annnnd candied rosemary a la carey from reclaiming provincial. that girl is a genius.

boy, i had fun with this cake! i wanna do it again! i wanna do it again! 

happy friday, all! i am off to fargo to deliver this cake and for a little wolftree* party... and then a halloween celebration! i am going to dress as a garden. i think. 

 -yeh!

  *speaking of wolftree. if you live in the midwest, you should come to this wolftree cooking workshop lead by yours truly!! i am nervous. it is my first cooking workshop. i've taught paradiddles and marimba songs and other music things to big groups. but i've never taught pies and soups and bread before. eeeek! i promise not to poison you, i promise it will be funnnn!!!! 

update from three minutes after i originally posted this: how the fock am i going to get this cake to fargo?

RECIPE: PISTACHIO & HAZELNUT LARABARS

today i am celebrating the end of my bakery night shifts!  

no more going to sleep at 4 pm, no more having to get dressed in the dark, no more "sorry, i can't get wasted with you right now because i have to work in two hours." 

i am so excited. 

i will still be working at the bakery, oh yes! my hours will be fewer to make way for some more writing, some scheming, and possibly even some commissioning. but they'll all be during the day. the glorious day. the glorious, sunny, vitamin d-filled day. yay! 

so far my celebration has included: buying gum paste, taking a shower, eating cheese on toast, daydreaming about the cake that i will make tomorrow, and making larabars from scratch. 

shit, you guys, making larabars is so easy. 

literally the larabar people have us fooled! i feel like if i were to buy a larabar now, it would be like buying a stick figure drawing.

i've seen a bunch of larabar recipes floating around the internet, so i know i'm no groundbreaker here, but it was just today that i got around to making some. i tailored my recipe to the amount of dates and the kinds of nuts that i had... and when i finished making them (in less than five minutes) i stood there all wide-eyed and shocked at how easy it was. and then i became flooded with ideas of what kind to make next. marzipan larabars. halvah larabars. so many larabars!

so much poop. 

anyway, it just occurred to me that i haven't yet had a celebratory i'm-not-nocturnal-anymore drink. bye!

pistachio & hazelnut larabars 

 makes 5 bars

1/3 c roasted hazelnuts*

1/3 c roasted pistachios*

salt, to taste (if your nuts are already salted you may not need to add more) 

1 tb unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 c pitted deglet noor dates  (an 8 oz. bag is about 1 1/2 cups)

*don't just stick to these, feel free to experiment with other nuts

clues 

combine nuts, salt, and cocoa powder in a food processor. grind them up until you have a mealy mixture and then pour them out into a medium bowl. 

place the dates in the food processor and then grind them into a paste. add the paste to the bowl and knead in the nuts (it may seem like a lot of nuts at first, but keep kneading).

on a piece of parchment paper, form a rectangle with the dough and then cut into bars. store in an air-tight vestibule(s). 

enjoy while watching this music video. 

-yeh! 

oh, bahahah p.s. happy halloween! 

RECIPE: BRUSSELS SPROUT LATKES WITH BALSAMIC DIJON SOUR CREAM

for the first 20 years of my solid food life, my thoughts on brussels sprouts were exclusively informed by cloudy with a chance of meatballs. i'd run from them, i'd spit them out, i'd talk smack about them without even checking my phone to make sure i hadn't butt dialed them. 

the recipe that changed this is my mum's recipe that we make every thanksgiving. the brussels sprouts are roasted and then tossed in a yummy mustardy vinaigrette. (i did a guest post with the recipe on ashlee's blog last year.) these opened the door for some very fantastic sprouty experiences: the cheesy ones at parm, the mustardy ones at buttermilk channel, roasted ones in sesame sauce... i think brussels sprout season might be my favorite season.

anywho, i made a little brussels sprout fried rice yesterday for lunch. i shredded some sprouts, stuck them in a pan to brown, and then scooted them to the side of the pan to make way for the egg. i cracked the egg in, and at first i was stressed because the whites oozed into the sprouts, but then i thought well if all of those sprouts stuck together, that could make a fun little pancake thing.

and then it struck me that i had no choice but to immediately make a brussels sprout latke! the perfect thanksgivukkah treat.

i dug up my favorite latke recipe, the ex-boyfriend latke, made a few adjustments, and cranked out some absurdly amazing latkes. then i made a variation on mum's mustard vinaigrette and mixed it into some sour cream. ooooh baby!

i want to eat the entire batch right now but i also don't want to get all bloaty in case i decide at the last minute to dress as a slutty marilyn hagerty for halloween. (just kidding i'm not actually considering that. but you should.)

 brussels sprout latkes with balsamic dijon sour cream

makes 10-12 latkes 

ingredients 

4 c shredded brussels sprouts*

1 medium onion, chopped

kosher salt and pepper to taste (i use about 4 big pinches of salt and a couple good cracks of pepper) 

the juice from 1/2 a lemon

4 egg whites 

1/2 c all-purpose flour or chickpea flour**

oil, for frying (i use canola) 

*you can find brussels sprouts in the store pre-shredded. i measured out one 9 oz bag to be 4 cups, even though the nutrition facts state otherwise. perhaps i simply didn't pack them as tightly in the measuring cup... i just sorta tossed them in...

**thank you to awesome reader courtney for testing this out with chickpea flour for a gluten free option! she also added bacon. hell yeah. 

 sour cream ingredients

1 c sour cream

2 tb dijon mustard

2 tb honey

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

 clues

if you've bought your sprouts pre-shredded, comb through them and chop up any big chunks because those could cause the latkes to fall apart.

in a large bowl, combine the sprouts, onion, salt, and pepper. stir in the lemon juice and egg whites, and then stir in the flour.

heat 1/4 inch of oil in a pan over medium heat. using an ice cream scoop or a large spoon, place dollops of the mixture in the oil. gently flatten them with a spatula. fry until golden brown on each side.

for the balsamic dijon sour cream, simply combine all ingredients (and place in a cute ramekin).  

enjoy for thanksgivukkah!

-yeh! 

p.s. if you're worried about oil spitting all over your cute thanksgivukkah clothes, enter my cute apron giveaway! 

RECIPE: CHICKPEA SKILLET CAKE WITH ZA'ATAR, CARAMELIZED ONIONS, AND ROASTED RED PEPPERS

what they don't tell you about the end of harvest is that the very next morning, after the end-of-harvest ribs and with an end-of-harvest hangover, there is still work to be done. sunrise to sundown, the fields need moar attention. all preparation for 2014! and before the first frost. 

(frost, please please get here soon!)

it was a buzz kill. i was so looking forward to introducing eggboy to my new made-for-tv christmas movie obsession and also using him as a hand model for my photos and perhaps crashing the town adult volleyball league. 

instead i spent my energies on reminding myself that crustless rye bread and dark chocolate m & ms do not a balanced meal make. and that retweeting does not a meaningful activity make. 

eventually i dragged myself out to the farm and i hung out on a tractor for a bit. i studied some music as eggboy did a thing called ridging. i went home, i watched made-for-tv christmas movies with my penguin, and ate more rye bread.

finally this morning, enough was enough with the not cooking thing. so i got my little jar of za'atar out of my spice library and relived that moment in jerusalem, when we ripped apart street bagels and dipped them in little za'atar bags. 

i had forgotten how satisfying za'atar is. it's so flavorful and tasty, and it's very fun to say. zaaaaataaaaarrrr... 

this chickpea pancake was gone within five seconds after it's photo shoot. it was so satisfying and i had no problem gobbling up the whole thing because of how healthy it is. i may have to make it for dinner at some point, if eggboy ever gets in from the fields!! 

 chickpea skillet cake with za'atar, caramelized onions, and roasted red peppers

serves 1-2 

ingredients 

1/2 c chickpea flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

a few cracks of black pepper

a pinch of chili flakes

1/2 c water

olive oil for the pan

1 small onion, chopped

3/4 c roasted red peppers (i use store bought, but you can for sure make your own)

4 tsp za'atar

optional: cheese, meat, and other veggies for toppings

 clues

in a small bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. whisk in the water until there are no lumps. set aside

coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and caramelize the onion. once caramelized, stir in red peppers and cook until heated (if you've just roasted your own peppers and they're still hot, this step isn't necessary).  

remove the onions and peppers from the pan and set them aside. heat about a tablespoon more of olive oil in the pan over medium heat, and then pour in the chickpea flour mixture. cook for a few minutes, until it's browned on the bottom and comes away easily from the skillet, and then flip over and cook for another few minutes. 

remove from heat and sprinkle with three teaspoons of za'atar. evenly distribute the onions and peppers, and then top with the remaining one teaspoon of za'atar and whatever other toppings you'd like.

enjoy with your gluten-free and vegan friends!

-yeh!